Komen foundation cutting 3-Day events

Fresh on the heels of a successful Race for the Cure in Portsmouth, the Susan G. Komen foundation recently announced it is canceling half of its 3-Day events next year.

Suzanne Laurent

Fresh on the heels of a successful Race for the Cure in Portsmouth, the Susan G. Komen foundation recently announced it is canceling half of its 3-Day events next year.

One of the seven 3-Day events canceled is in Boston, where many Seacoast residents have participated over the years in the fight against breast cancer. The charity came under fire last year when it pulled grants for breast cancer screenings from Planned Parenthood. After backlash from Komen supporters and abortion rights advocates, the foundation reversed its decision.

"While last year's controversy did create challenges for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day, it is just one of many factors," said Komen spokeswoman Andrea Rader. "The Komen 3-Day series has been around for 10 years and it was time to re-evaluate the series to ensure we continue to return as much money as possible to the cause."

After its first race of 800 people in Dallas, the series grew to 138 races with 1.7 million participants around the world. In 30 years, the charity says it has raised more than $2 billion for research and community programs. But the recent drop in race participation has hurt the bottom line.

The Komen foundation issued a statement saying the difficult decision to restructure the program for 2014 was made because overall participation in the series has declined 37 percent in the last four years.

Participants must raise at least $2,300 to walk 60 miles over three days. Many participants have reported that while enthusiasm for the series remains high, it is more difficult for people to donate at levels they had in the past, according to the foundation.

In addition to Boston, other 3-Day events are canceled for 2014 in Chicago, Cleveland, Phoenix, San Francisco and Tampa Bay.

The 3-Day event is not to be confused with other Komen events, such as the 5K Race for the Cure. Portsmouth held its inaugural Race for the Cure in May 2012 as part of the Vermont-New Hampshire Affiliate of the Komen foundation that has been in existence for 21 years. New Hampshire joined the organization nine years ago.

That first race drew 1,150 participants and raised $217,000. This year's race on May 11 saw a decrease in both participants and money raised, although according to race organizers, its goals were met.

This year there were 643 participants with the race raising $156,500.

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